Putting that reverse psychology argument to rest, Mt. St. Vincent University contends it worked for them -- and they have data to prove it.

Alongside Extreme Group MSVU launched Good Thing, a campaign that courts savvy new students by telling them not to attend the university because it would ruin their small class sizes and good vibe. Shirts were printed with "Seriously. Don't come here. We've got a good thing going."

Apparently future co-eds thought so too. Applications leaped 7.8 percent and visits to the site saw an 18.5 percent jump compared to the same time in 2005. Who'd have guessed disinterest -- even feigned disinterest -- is magnetic?

Debates over the legitimacy of racecar-driving as a "real" sport aside, there's one sport we never get tired of playing: mouthing off, a pastime NASCAR leverages in the ads for its Busch Series races.

To add texture to this most stimulating of face-offs, the ad-splattered organization features talking heads on ad tees. Iron-on drivers trash each other, make fun of their over-the-hill future selves and call out sluggish competitors.

Credited to BooneOakley, the campaign will run on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, FOX and SPEED, as well as during the Nextel Cup races. Prints and Internet banners will also be floating around in NASCAR-oriented publications and sites.

The ads are compelling enough to inspire us to buy a NASCAR shirt, though we'd be bummed if we stood around waiting for them to talk and they just ... didn't.

For the buzzkills who respond to trash-talk with "WTF, mate? Got something to prove?!", NASCAR prepares the perfect slogan: Hell yeah, fucktard! "We've got something to prove." We added the first part, but we know that's what they meant.

MS&L Digital helped launch this weird new site called Get Your Game Feet On, a perhaps dead-on attempt at making Novartis' Lamisil AT Gel more jock friendly.

We weren't deeply moved by hosts Mike and Mike's feel-good product pushing (it's really hard to take feet seriously) but we kind of liked the hoop shot game and thought the talking socks were sort of funny. That is, until we remembered Lamb Chop and got really bummed out. It's not every day that your favourite talking sock dies.

Pushing the objective of "[Bringing] home the Sopranos -- permanently," spots include insider nods to the Badda Bing strip club and Paulie Walnut's skunky hairdo. They were directed by Harvest Films' Baker Smith for Venables, Bell & Partners, and edited by Phoenix Editorial & Designs.

Unless you're an avid Sopranos watcher you're probably going to be all "OMGWTFBBQ?!" That's okay, because that's part of why they're so funny. We often stare sadly up at our ceilings at night and wish we were born in the mob. Sure there's sporadic death and violence, but the mobsters' otherwise zany antics (oh, and piles and piles of black market money) seem to make decent compensation.

In lieu of your typical "Got Milk?" stint, Promolac ties milk to everyday passions. Who'd have guessed the stuff of cow udders could be sexy? Not us. Then again, sex and dairy aren't strangers, and it's definitely less "eh?" than this.

Put together by Eva of Santiago, Chile, the copy reads "I drink." Adpunch has more from the same campaign. The others aren't sexy, but they're pretty to look at, and we were getting tired of that bland family sitcom humour-type stuff people are always pulling to push milk.

Inspired by the menagerie of ad-smothered games, someone took it upon himself to go, "By gad - we should make ad games for advertisers!" This dangerous stream of thought yielded the PROMO Marketer's Challenge, a drably-coloured trivia challenge on the ad industry -- complete, of course, with ads.

The purpose of the game is to get talk out about PROMO magazine, which covers promotions and integrated marketing and is prepping for a relaunch. Redesign teasers are interspersed not-so-subtly throughout; in fact, we've played enough times to merit a free subscription CPM-wise. Are you listening, PROMO? Your SPREADS are engraved behind our EYELIDS.

Green is hot, with everybody from Lexus to New Belgium promoting environmental initiatives. To keep apace, Ford of Europe launches an interesting campaign to promote vehicles powered by Flexifuel, a fun little term for bio-ethanol.

Sentimentally pinned "For the Next Generation," the effort features images of "ecologically sensitive animals all on the verge of birth," using a motherly touch to remain anatomically correct and imagine the insides of mothers without actually invading animals to create them.

The work is lovely but there's something completely bizarre about using fetuses to sell fuel. Well, stranger pairings have happened. AdCritic.com wryly notes it'll definitely win the hearts of Pro-Lifers.

Macy's just launched a campaign designed to harness the power of WOM on eight campuses nationwide. The pilot brand is American Rag, and students are the vehicle.

American Rag enthusiasts were chosen as brand ambassadors to promote a contest at their respective schools. As they walk around all ragged-out, they encourage peers to design a print for the brand. The goal is to create foot traffic at Macy's stores located nearby.

If American Rag wants to succeed it would do well to change its name. There's already an American Eagle and an American Apparel, both of which pretty much own the niche Macy's is shooting for.

Plus, something about it makes us think along the lines of Jordache, Mossimo and other hopeful big-brands now confined to big boxes.

We were lollygagging on MySpace because apparently we never have anything better to do (this is our second mention this evening) when a funny Citibank ad caught our eye.

To promote its student-targeted credit cards Citi's got this weird campaign with haphazardly drawn college students. In the one we saw, the head of an oft-complimented girl expands until she floats away like a balloon.

We love little characterizations like that. What better way to sniggle us into a frightening APR than to give each one a personality? If we weren't debating Jet Setters or Rewards Junkies we'd probably still be on Rachel or Monica.

Nothing brings people together like the promise of intoxication. Leveraging its ongoing love affair with Anheuser-Busch, MingleNow launches Clink, an "innovative new social networking promotion" where trend-setting adults can upload pictures of themselves enjoying beer.

"Supporting this niche social media outlet where people actively engage in sharing stories and images reinforces the honesty and authenticity of socializing over a beer," says EVP Bob Lachky for the global industry development sector of Anheuser-Busch.